In Colorado, Family Courts Treat Different People Differently
If you and your spouse made the same amount of money, shared child-rearing duties 50-50, and neither of you had any nonmarital property, divorce would probably be a simple process of splitting everything down the middle. However, most families don't operate that way. Many cases involve complex property division where only one large asset exists or the assets cannot be divided.
The lives of a married couple are intertwined in many ways. At the law firm of Buchholz, McDowell & Norman, our lawyers have more than 25 years of experience of helping families in the Denver-Boulder area reach a fair division of assets and parental responsibilities in the marriage dissolution process.
Will You Need a Lawyer's Help?
If you are going through a divorce, it's important to understand some of the issues that could trigger the need for an attorney's help:
- Filing for Divorce: Shortly after you or your spouse files for divorce, the court may hold a hearing to enter temporary orders. At this hearing, a judge may make such decisions as who will stay in the family home, how the parents will divide time with their children, and how much child support will be paid. The court may also decide issues such as who will pay home mortgage and car loans, who will have access to marital funds, and how those funds may be used.
- Child custody and visitation: The terms child custody and visitation are no longer used in Colorado. Instead, the court enters orders allocating parental responsibility, which means how much time the children spend with each parent and how decisions about the children are made. These decisions are made in the children's best interests, which can involve many different considerations depending on the circumstances of each family. Many clients continue to use the words custody and visitation even though these terms have changed.
- Child support: Colorado uses a formula to determine child support based on the time the children spend with each parent, the number of children and the income of the parents, as well as some additional factors. However, there are many things that are not covered by the formula, such as expenses for extracurricular activities.
- Division of property: In Colorado, marital property and marital debt is to be divided equitably. However, what is marital property? How are assets such as businesses valued? Most people don't know and could end up making mistakes in dividing assets and debts.
- Alimony/Maintenance: Will you receive or be required to pay alimony, which is referred to as maintenance? In Colorado, the rules are not clear-cut.
Schedule a Free Attorney Consultation
To discuss your divorce case with a lawyer at Buchholz, McDowell & Norman, call 303-578-4215 or fill out the contact form on this site. We serve clients in the Denver-Boulder area.
